


Into the Void

by angstytimelord



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mind Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:20:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7170806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstytimelord/pseuds/angstytimelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Will discovers some unexpected connections that Hannibal has to some powerful people, he knows that he has to talk to his most infamous enemy once again in an attempt to link Hannibal's crimes to other unsolved murders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unexpected Connections

Will hadn't known of some of the connections Hannibal had.

How was it that this man had known so many influential people? he asked himself, shaking his head as he closed the file he was reading. It hardly seemed possible.

If these powerful people had known what Hannibal really was behind that urbane facade he presented to the world, Will doubted that they would have been so friendly with him. In fact, they probably would have run away in horror, fearing that they would be his next victims.

Or would Hannibal have done them in? Will had to wonder about that. Hannibal might have let them live, simply because he could always use friends in high places.

Still, there was no way for him to be sure about that.

Hannibal certainly wouldn't tell him, he thought, a sour smile twisting his lips. Hannibal wouldn't talk to him now, except to speak in riddles.

Of course, he was sure that Hannibal now regarded him as an enemy. Though if the absolute truth were told, Will thought that they had _always_ been enemies at heart.

Friends didn't do the things that Hannibal had done to him. Friends didn't put the ones they cared about through such horrors. And friends certainly didn't try to take each other's lives. The fact that they'd both tried to do so was proof that they had never truly been friends.

Will shuddered at that last thought; he didn't want to remember how many times he had come close to losing his life because of Hannibal's evil machinations.

Well, his enemy was behind bars where he belonged, and he could take some satisfaction in that. At least there was no way for Hannibal to harm any more innocent people.

At least he had accomplished that much.

He could be proud of himself for being the person to bring Hannibal to justice. He had stopped that monster from committing even more crimes.

But at what cost to himself? Will thought with a soft sigh. He knew that he would never be the same again, not after all the havoc that Hannibal had wreaked on his life.

Knowing Hannibal had changed him, and in some ways, those changes hadn't been for the better. He wondered if he could ever get back the faith that he'd had in the human race, his innate belief that most people were good, despite the fact that everyone had a dark side.

Hannibal had made him focus exclusively on the dark sides of everyone he came into contact with, and that wasn't a good thing, considering that he already had social issues.

His experiences with Hannibal had made him even more pessimistic, making him view the world as an even darker place. And that definitely didn't help his outlook on life.

Beyond that, knowing Hannibal had made him face the darker side of his own soul -- and he hadn't liked what he had found there. He didn't like looking into that dark mirror and knowing that it would be so easy to turn towards that darkness and allow himself to embrace it fully.

But he never would, Will told himself fiercely. He might feel a connection to that darkness within himself, but that was mainly because of the work he did.

And because of his empathic abilities, he thought with a sigh. They would always be an unexpected connection to that darkness, one that tethered him to that black void.

It was a connection that he sincerely wished he didn't have.

That connection wasn't unexpected, really; Will had always been in touch with his dark side in some ways, but he hadn't brought it out as often as he did now.

It was one of the things that he truly disliked about what he did for a living; having to delve into that darkness so often was starting to wear on him.

Hannibal had brought that darkness front and center, shown him just how seductive it could be whenever he allowed it to beckon to him. But he had managed to turn away from that siren song; the last thing he wanted was to become the kind of monster that Hannibal Lecter was.

He wouldn't let himself fall into that trap, Will vowed. He would die first. He wasn't a monster. He never had been. He was one of the good guys.

If he became like Hannibal, if he let that darkness overtake him, if he let that connection overpower him, then he was no better than the criminals he chased after.

He wouldn't let himself give in to that darkness, no matter how hard he was pushed.

He knew that he was connected to that dark side of his soul; everyone was. No light could exist without darkness as its counterpart. He had always known that.

But he also knew that the light could overpower the darkness. He himself was living proof of that fact. How many times had he gazed into that abyss when he was inside a killer's mind, doing his job, and not let himself fall into that darkness and be swallowed whole?

He had the strength to keep himself in the light. And what was more, he could pull away from that dark side and only use it to aid in the pusuit of darkness.

He'd gotten pretty good at doing that, hadn't he?

That was the _only_ thing he would ever access that darkness within his soul for, Will promised himself. He might have to use it to catch killers, but not for anything else.

He didn't want to strengthen his connection to that darkness. It wasn't something that he wanted to nurture, or to let grow to outsized proportions. Hannibal had done that -- and Will had seen what kind of monster he had become. He wouldn't let himself go that route.

No, he would never do that. If he did, then he might as well end himself. Being like Hannibal would be a fate worse than death -- and one that he didn't want to suffer.

Will's hands shook slightly as he reached for the next file.

There was still so much that they didn't know about Hannibal, and they weren't going to find it in files. They'd do better to get the information from the man himself.

That information wasn't forthcoming, though, which Will knew all too well. If they wanted Hannibal to talk about himself, they would have to send in an agent who he would actually speak to.

Will winced, knowing that it would have to be him. Hannibal wouldn't talk to anyone else; he was sure of that. He wasn't even sure, at this point, that Hannibal would deign to speak to him. After all, he was the one responsible for Hannibal being in prison.

Would it even be worth a try? Will wasn't sure about that. He didn't know if Hannibal would even tell him the truth if the two of them spoke.

Still .... if they did, maybe he could accomplish something. Maybe they could find more of Hannibal's victims, and bring their families some much-needed closure.

Will knew all too well how it felt to be left hanging, to still have hope.

He slammed a door in his mind on that thought, refusing to let it break through again. He didn't want to think of Abigail, of those months when he hadn't known what had happened to her.

If he could spare some of the families of Hannibal's victims that kind of pain, then he could do what he could to bring them the closure they needed. And maybe, if he was very lucky, he might uncover some hitherto unexpected connections between Hannibal's crimes and others.

He might be able to ferret out some connections between Hannibal's victims and some unsolved crimes, and thus enable them to close more cases.

If he could accomplish any of that, he'd have to give it a shot.

Now that he had made up his mind that he needed to talk to Hannibal, he wanted to get it over with before he started having second thoughts.

Will took a deep breath and stood up, picking up the small stack of files to take them to Jack's office. He'd have to ask for clearance to see Hannibal, and there was no time like the present.


	2. What Do You Want From Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will isn't sure of what to say when he confronts Hannibal in his jail cell for the first time.

Will sat in front of Hannibal's cell, staring at the other man.

He couldn't make himself look away, though he wanted to. He still wasn't entirely sure just why he was here; he really didn't want to be, if he was honest with himself.

What did he want from this man? He wanted answers to his questions, of course, but there was something more that hovered just below the surface.

How had Hannibal come to have some of the connections he did? And were those powerful people somehow in possession of knowledge about Hannibal that he and the FBI hadn't had until recently? Had they used this killer to rid themselves of problems in their lives?

The thought was chilling; Will didn't want to think of the leverage that Hannibal could possibly have with any of thse people, what he could hold over their heads.

If that was true, then it would be no problem for Hannibal to use that leverage to somehow waltz out of the FBI's custody, despite all the horrors that he had perpetrated.

Will could see that happening all too easily.

That was something he couldn't allow to happen; he had to make sure that Hannibal stayed here, walled in, kept away from society and innocent people.

He wasn't going to let this monster take any more lives. And he wasn't going to let Hannibal manipulate anyone else into doing it for him.

Will realized that he'd been sitting here staring, without really thinking about what -- or who -- he was looking at. He was wasting time; he should have already been talking to Hannibal, trying to draw the other man out with his questions. Instead, he'd just been woolgathering.

Hannibal sat there, staring right back at him, arms crossed over his chest. Those eyes almost made Will squirm; he hated that concentrated, obsessive stare.

But he didn't squirm; he straightened up in his chair and met Hannibal's gaze directly. He wasn't going to look away. He wouldn't be stared down.

Then Hannibal's lips curved into what could only be called a wolfish smile.

"What exactly is it that you want from me, Will?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and regarding the younger man with something of a quizzical expression. "For I assume that there is something."

Will nodded reluctantly, cursing himself as he did. He hadn't even really spoken yet, and he already felt as though Hannibal had the upper hand. Dammit.

This wasn't how he had wanted things to play out. He'd wanted to feel as though he was in control, as though he was the one who was guiding the proceedings. He should have known that Hannibal wouldn't give him that chance. They were still playing those mind games with each other.

Well, if Hannibal regarded this as a game, then so be it. It took at least two to play games, and Will had been taught by a master -- the man who sat in front of him now.

"What I want are answers," he said, keeping his voice brusque and businesslike. "How did you come to know all of the important people you know, Hannibal? What's your connection to them?"

Hannibal smiled, raising his eyebrows. Will felt a rush of anger; he knew that Hannibal was baiting him, playing with him, as a cat plays with a cornered mouse.

Hannibal did indeed have the upper hand here, and that fact made Will furious. He had all the answers, and Will was going to have to go on a fishing expedition to get them.

Or rather, if he knew Hannibal, several fishing expeditions, he thought, cursing himself for being so clumsy at making the first move to get the answers he sought. He should have known better than to make such a mistake. Hannibal was already a few steps ahead.

That was something that couldn't be allowed to happen, either. Once Hannibal took the lead, Will would be doing the chasing, which wasn't a good sign.

He already knew from bitter personal experience just what it was like to chase Hannibal, to always be those few crucial steps behind him, too late to stop whatever was going to happen.

He wasn't going to put himself in that position again.

"You of all people should know that those answers will not be forthcoming, Will," Hannibal said, shaking his head. "I cannot reveal too much about myself."

Now it was Will's turn to raise his brows. "We don't know a lot about you, that's true," he said, keeping his voice calm and steady. "But we _can_ find out."

"I do not believe so," Hannibal said, that small, infuriating smile still playing around the corners of his lips. "I make sure to cover my tracks carefully, Will. You should realise that by now. You have been going around in circles with me for quite a while, and you know me better than anyone."

Will had to concede that truth, though he didn't like to do so. Anything that he admitted as fact gave points to Hannibal, and gave him even more of an advantage.

"You've always been above board on the surface," Will said, leaning forward. "But I have to assume that you've got something on all of these people, or they wouldn't admit to knowing you."

Hannibal smiled again, enigmatically, looking somewhat rueful.

"If you want any answers from me, then you will have to work for them," he said, his gaze not leaving Will's face. "You simply have to ask the proper questions."

Another mind game, Will told himself. Well, he should have been prepared for that. It was Hannibal's biggest asset, these games he loved to play. They were his forté.

Aloud, he only said, raising his brows, "Then you'll have to give me some time. I still have to figure out what the right questions are. But I will, you know." He smiled, trying to look relaxed and confident, though he was far from feeling that way. "I know you well, Hannibal."

Hannibal nodded, his gaze searching Will's face as though looking for the answer to an unasked question there. "Yes, you do," he murmured. "Perhaps far too well."

Ah, there was an admission that he hadn't thought he would get. Maybe he should end this on a positive note, then, and start thinking about the questions he needed to ask.

Will got to his feet, signaling that this initial meeting was over.

"Think about my question, Will," Hannibal told him, and Will felt anger spurt within him once as he heard the laughter in Hannibal's tone. "What do you want from me?"

What he wanted was to not ever have to deal with Hannibal again, Will thought, compressing his lips into a thin line and not turning to look at the other man. But he wouldn't say that.

When he did turn around to look at Hannibal, he managed to keep his face carefully blank, and to nod slowly, as though he was contemplating those words. "I'll think about it, and the next time I'm here, I'll have an answer for that -- and some questions for you," he said, slowly and deliberately.

"I look forward to hearing them," Hannibal told him, that small smile still on his lips. "And perhaps, Will, if you are quite lucky, I'll even be able to answer them."

He had no answer for that. All he could do was nod curtly, and stalk down the corridor that led out of the area where Hannibal's prison cell was.

Hannibal might have won the first round, but he'd be better prepared for the next one.


End file.
